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WhiskyCast Episodes

WhiskyCast is where it all begins. Now in our 9th year, each weekly episode brings you the latest in whisky news, along with the latest events, tasting notes, comments from other listeners, and the weekly “In-Depth” segment features interviews with the people who help make whisky the “water of life”.

Suntory Holdings CEO Takeshi Niinami is one of Japan’s leading business executives. He’s the first CEO from outside the founding Torii family, and is also a key economic adviser to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzō Abe. He inherited last year’s $16 billion acquisition of Beam when he joined Suntory six months ago, and has been focused on making the deal work while changing Suntory’s internal culture. We’ll discuss the growing pains of the deal, which made Beam Suntory the world’s #3 spirits company, with Takeshi Niinami on this week’s WhiskyCast In-Depth. In the news, a preliminary ruling in one lawsuit against a “handmade” spirits maker could be a sign of problems for whisky makers facing similar lawsuits, Four Roses plans another round of construction in Bourbon Country, and milestones mean commemorative bottlings of whiskies from around the world.

US President Barack Obama visited a whisky maker for the first time this week during his trip to Cleveland for a speech to the City Club of Cleveland. He visited the small business incubator that’s home to Tom Lix’s Cleveland Whiskey, along with nearly two dozen other small manufacturers. Lix’s proprietary — and controversial — process takes young whiskey and gives it what Lix claims is the color, aroma, and taste of older Bourbons. He’ll tell us about the President’s visit and discuss his process on this week’s WhiskyCast In-Depth. In the news, the investigation into the theft of whiskey from a Wild Turkey warehouse in Kentucky continues, Jim Beam fights back in the courts, another “world” whisky is named the World’s Best Single Malt, and a Japanese CEO has banned his executives from drinking some of his company’s own whiskies to make more available for consumers.

Anthony Bourdain is many things…a chef, author, journalist, and media personality. At heart, though, he’s a hedonist seeking pleasure from everything he encounters – including whisky. The host of CNN’s “Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown” was the lead juror for this year’s American Craft Council Rare Craft Fellowship Awards presented by The Balvenie, and we spent a few minutes discussing whisky at Tuesday’s awards luncheon in New York City. He’ll share his thoughts on the global interest in whisky, along with his take on what defines a “craft” whisky and more on this week’s WhiskyCast In-Depth.

In the news, a Buffalo Trace employee has been arrested has been made in the theft of five barrels of Bourbon from Wild Turkey, and investigators are looking for any links to the infamous 2013 “Pappygate” theft. Scotch Whisky industry leaders are hoping for a tax cut in this coming week’s UK budget announcement, and a Bourbon brand not sold in the US for two decades is coming back. We’ll also have plenty of feedback on last week’s interview with class-action attorney Abbas Kazerounian on his consumer fraud lawsuits against Jim Beam and Maker’s Mark over their claims of being “hand-made.”

Lawyers are circling around the whisky industry, much like sharks around a shipwreck. At least five different US distillers and bottlers have been hit with class-action lawsuits since last September accusing them of misleading consumers. The litigation largely focuses on whether their whiskies are “hand-made,” “small-batch,” or claim to come from a small-scale distillery that actually purchases bulk whiskey from larger distillers.

This week on WhiskyCast In-Depth, we’ll hear from one of the attorneys targeting the whisky industry. Abbas Kazerounian’s California law firm specializes in class-action consumer cases, and is currently suing Maker’s Mark, Jim Beam, and Tito’s Vodka over claims that their products are hand-made. His goal is to get drinks producers to be more honest with consumers, and plans to expand that fight to Scotch Whisky and other spirits as well. Beam Suntory declined to make anyone available to discuss the lawsuits, but company spokesmen have said the lawsuits are without merit.

In the news, George Dickel master distiller John Lunn is leaving Diageo for a new opportunity, Brown-Forman plans to turn up the heat on Fireball with its Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Fire, and two sides are squabbling over the trademark rights to a historic distillery name. This week’s tasting notes feature The Glenlivet Founder’s Reserve and the Evan Williams Single Barrel 2005 Vintage Bourbon.

Lots to talk about this week, with news from all over the world! Bruichladdich’s Jim McEwan joins us on WhiskyCast In-Depth to talk about the world’s peatiest whisky ever — his Octomore 6.3 with a phenol level of 258ppm! We’ll also hear about new whiskies from Tomatin, Duncan Taylor, Midleton, and Whistlepig, along with the latest on Teeling Whiskey’s new Dublin distillery that could be ready to make whiskey by St. Patrick’s Day, and we’ll look at the Bourbon boom with Beam Suntory’s chief of marketing and sales for Whiskies and Cognacs, Chris Bauder.

For the second straight year, a Texas whiskey has won Best in Show honors at the American Craft Spirits Association competition. San Antonio’s Ranger Creek Brewing & Distilling .36 Single Barrel Straight Bourbon beat a field of whiskies and other spirits from around the US. Ranger Creek co-founder Mark McDavid joins us this week on WhiskyCast In-Depth to share the story behind that whiskey and the distillery. In the news, a California law firm is challenging Beam Suntory on two fronts now over claims that Jim Beam and Maker’s Mark are “hand-made”, a distilling prodigy is leaving Brown-Forman for the craft distilling world, and doctors don’t want us to confuse the “Bourbon Virus” with the “Whisky Bug”.

It’s Valentine’s Day, and who better to explain his passion for making whisky than Rifino Valentine of Valentine Distilling. His Woodward Ltd. Bourbon is named after Detroit’s legendary Woodward Avenue, which runs just a couple of blocks away from his distillery in the suburb of Ferndale, Michigan. Valentine is preparing to move from his original site to a brand-new facility in Ferndale, and is part of a craft distilling boom in the Detroit area. We’ll talk with Rifino Valentine and his head distiller, Justin Aden, on this week’s WhiskyCast In-Depth. There are plenty of new whiskies to talk about this week, and we’ll also have more tasting notes from the #28DramsIn28Days project.

Ian MacMillan has been overseeing the whiskies from Deanston, Tobermory, and Bunnahabhain for years…but Cognac cask finishes were one thing he hadn’t experimented much with until the opportunity presented itself several years ago. The result is the new Deanston 18 Cognac Matured single malt that’s being released in the US this month. We’ll discuss Cognac casks with Ian on WhiskyCast In-Depth, along with his other single malts and his new take on the Black Bottle blend. In the news, there’s word that The Glenlivet may be replacing its flagship 12-year-old expression with the no-age-statement Founder’s Reserve in some markets, old stills from Islay will be getting a new life in Ireland, and whisky sales keep growing in the US. We’ll also kick off the #28DramsIn28Days series of tasting notes, too.

Graeme Macaloney gave up a secure career in the pharmaceutical industry to pursue his dream of making whisky, and the Scottish expat is getting closer to realizing his dream. He’s hoping to begin construction on the Victoria Caledonian Distillery in Victoria, British Columbia soon, and has already brought Dr. Jim Swan and former Diageo distillery manager Mike Nicolson as consultants. Graeme explains why he and his family mortgaged their future (and their house) on his dream on this week’s WhiskyCast In-Depth.

In the news, Wild Turkey’s Eddie Russell joins us to discuss his promotion to Master Distiller alongside his father, the legendary Jimmy Russell. We’ll also look at whisky economics in Scotland, where a new report estimates the industry’s economic impact at £5 billion annually. There’s word on new whiskies from anCnoc and GlenDronach, and this week’s tasting notes include whiskies from Kentucky, Texas, Scotland, and France!

Kentucky’s Four Roses Distillery announced this week that supply problems will prevent this spring’s release of the annual Four Roses Limited Edition Single Barrel Bourbon. In his first interview on the subject, master distiller Jim Rutledge explains why dropping the limited-edition release will make more single barrel bottlings available to consumers, along with the prospects for bringing back the annual release in the future. In the news, Scotch Whisky producers are preparing for a fight with Westminster over taxes, we have more details on last weekend’s Sunday Herald report about water usage violations at some Scottish distilleries, US regulators are cracking down on vague age statements, and there are new whiskies to talk about from Woodford Reserve and Glenmorangie. Finally, tasters at an event planned for Valentine’s Day in London may really detect a note of sweat in their whiskies…

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Here's another sign that the boom in Bourbon is likely to last for a while. Bacardi has acquired Angel's Envy Bourbon, along with its parent company and the Louisville Distilling Company distillery currently under construction in downtown Louisville. Both companies are privately held, and no purchase price was disclosed.

March 30, 2015 - Bacardi, the Miami-based and family-owned wine and spirits giant, is taking its first step into the Bourbon sector with the acquisition of Angel's Share Brands, the parent company ...

This week on WhiskyCast, we'll look at the business side of whisky with Suntory Holdings CEO Takeshi Niinami. He left one of Asia's largest convenience store chains six months ago to become the first Suntory CEO from outside the founding Torii family, and one of his main goals has been to implement last year's $16 billion acquisition of Beam. There have been growing pains, and Niinami discusses them frankly in our WhiskyCast In-Depth interview. There's also word on new whiskies to mark a bunch of anniversaries and other milestones in 2015, too...

Suntory Holdings CEO Takeshi Niinami is one of Japan's leading business executives. He's the first CEO from outside the founding Torii family, and is also a key economic adviser to Japanese Prime ...